For Those We Love
by Mai Kusakabe
Summary: Portgas D. Rouge would do anything to protect the people she loved. She knew there was no way to save Roger, but they could make sure that their baby grew up as safe as possible given their circumstances.


This is my story for the share the love month event on tumblr. Originally, it was meant to be a short and sweet 2k oneshot with Roger and Rouge spending a day together at Baterilla. As you can see, it's not that. The story grew a plot while I wasn't looking and became this. The original scenes I had planned are still in here, though.

I did some numbers for this story, to get the timeframe as accurate as possible. Rouge's pregnancy lasted 20 months in canon, as Ace was born January 1st, she became pregnant either late April or early May. We also know that Roger was executed at most a few days before Duval was born, and Duval's birthday is August 11th. That means Roger's execution was early August (which, by the way, proves that what they said in the anime of the anniversary of his execution being the day Luffy was at Loguetown was another filler-mistake, because Luffy set sail May 5th and he, at most, spent a month in East Blue). So, this means Rouge was three months along when he was executed, which also explains why she could stop and hide her pregnancy from the government.

Beta-read by Aerle

* * *

 **For Those We Love**

"Hey, Rouge!" Roger called her, and she turned from the stack of clothes she had been browsing through to look at him. "Look at this!" he exclaimed, and waved a hand in the air. A hand holding a little marine baby outfit.

Rouge scoffed, but she was unable to hold back a chuckle.

"Oh, no, you can't be serious," she admonished, but she already knew that, not only was Roger serious, but they would leave the store with those clothes in a bag.

Gol D. Roger wasn't, after all, someone used to be denied anything. If he wanted to do something, he did it, and if he wanted to buy —or otherwise acquire— something, he did. And with the baby he seemed to have gone all out. Ever since Rouge had been sure of her pregnancy, Roger had taken to buy things. Their unborn baby had now more belongings than Rouge herself had. It didn't matter that they didn't know whether it was a girl or a boy, because Roger bought _anything_. From dresses to tiny combat boots, any color that could be found, the baby had it. Roger had even found a mini pirate hat similar to his own —it turned out some people sold clandestinely merchandise based on the most infamous criminals in the world— that now occupied one of the three chests full of baby clothes they owned. And that was without counting the toys, although with those Roger had shown a preference for pretend weapons and plush monsters.

Rouge didn't mind, of course, it was great to see Roger so enthusiastic about being a father, and she had also indulged in a good deal of shopping of her own. Currently, she was looking at onesies and, as there was no way of knowing how big or small their baby would be born, she chose three different sizes of the two models she liked. Roger did the same, which probably explained how they had filled three chests of clothes in under a month.

Finally, Rouge pulled herself away from the stacks of clothes, and dragged Roger away as well before he could have a look at a particular section of garish flowery things she refused to dress any child of hers in. Roger was a pirate, and as such he had an abysmal taste as far as clothes were concerned. It seemed to be a requisite, or, at the very least, color blindness was.

Besides, they had been here long enough, it was time they moved on.

As Roger swung the bags of supplies they had acquired earlier around as if they weighed nothing —which they _didn't_ , as in water alone they had over fifty liters— she carried the baby things, including a few fluffy blankets she had been hunting down for two islands.

It was dangerous, this road trip of theirs, and they were both aware of it, which was why Roger was going out of his way to avoid what he referred to as adventures. And brawls, at Rouge's express request. They hadn't even stepped foot on a bar that looked the slightly bit shady since their arrival to the Grand Line.

When they were back in Baterilla, her home island, Rouge had known nobody would dare alert the marines of Roger's presence in the island, too afraid of drawing the infamous Pirate King's ire if they did. At first, staying at the island had worked just fine, they had simply been careful to not be seen together outside, and Roger ensured no one followed him when he returned to Rouge's house after one of his excursions into town. She lived far enough in the middle of nowhere that it worked. It wasn't that Rouge was ashamed of their relationship, back then there was nothing she would have liked more than to just walk around town with Roger and act silly, but they had both known that it would put her in incredible danger once he was gone if she was connected to him.

Things had changed with the pregnancy.

Rouge didn't regret it, not by any means, the baby hadn't been born yet and it already was the person that she loved the most in this world, but it had turned the situation upside down. The first time Roger came back grinning widely, a little blue dinosaur held in one hand, Rouge realized there was no way people would forget the sight of the Pirate King happily buying a baby toy.

She couldn't just lay low and act oblivious now when the government showed up, because now they wouldn't be looking for someone who _might_ be connected to Roger in the island, now they would be looking for a pregnant woman, and the possibility of Roger having a baby would rank highest in the government's list of threats.

They had needed a plan.

Roger's first idea had been to entrust their safety to Monkey D. Garp, the marine vice-admiral with whom he had been exchanging blows for years and that he saw as close as family. Rouge didn't doubt that Garp would help, she had heard enough about him from Roger to share his belief that being a marine wouldn't stop Garp from protecting them, but she hadn't been too thrilled about the timeframe that plan gave them: it was too close, in her opinion. Roger wouldn't be able to tell Garp about them until the last moment, and then it would be a matter of who would reach Baterilla first, Garp or the government —Rouge had no doubt that, once Roger left, someone would dare call the marines to inform he had been there in hopes of receiving some compensation. If the government arrived first, then Rouge would be left to fend on her own while they were at the island.

And so, Rouge had insisted that they find an alternative, leaving that first plan as a last resort.

Roger had almost punched himself when he had remembered that he had another not-quite-enemy that could help them. Rouge found it amusing that Roger would resort to his adversaries instead of his friends, but she didn't say anything. She liked this second option much better than the first, and so here they were. It wasn't free of risk, but it _was_ safer than the first one.

She had no illusions that the someone previously mentioned, maybe more than one person, would have called the marines as soon as it became clear that Roger had left the island, just the same that she was reasonably sure her own absence must have been noticed by now. And that was why they couldn't linger at any island for very long, because they wanted to minimize the risk of being found.

Roger was fine with this, he saw it as a new adventure, and Rouge herself was enjoying the thrill, but that didn't mean she didn't worry. She knew it was this worry what had made Roger take as many precautions as he had. When he had come to Baterilla, he still had had two log poses, one of each half of the Grand Line —and they were fascinating, Rouge had spent hours studying them. They could just have followed a route, she knew it, but instead he had procured two eternal poses from Crocus —the doctor who lived at the twin capes with the giant whale and that had accompanied Roger for the last three years in his crew— and they had used them to alter their route somewhat.

* * *

"So, Shiki had us surrounded —you know, the crazy guy who has a giant crew and wants to conquer the world or something like that—" Roger was saying, lying down with his head on Rouge's legs, facing her still mostly flat stomach. "He's always wanted me to join him, you know? But I always refused because I don't follow orders and, besides, the guy's an ass—"

Rouge whacked him on the head, hard, and Roger yelped, looking up at her with an almost believable hurt expression.

"Don't use such language," she admonished him.

Roger _pouted_. Anyone else would have been disturbed to see someone that powerful and feared with such a ridiculous expression on his face. Rouge just rolled her eyes. Roger could be such a big baby sometimes.

"It's not like the kid's gonna pick it up from me," he muttered. Rouge just raised her hand and Roger muttered. "Alright. So, as I was saying before your mom hit me —and, seriously, kid, don't piss her off, she can be scary," he mock-whispered at the baby, and Rouge had to smile.

Roger liked to lay there and tell stories to their child. He had decided that, as they didn't have much time together left, he would make the best of it, and Rouge hoped their child would remember at least an impression of Roger, as unlikely as that was. Roger may be an idiot, but he was an admirable idiot, and she really hoped he would pass that quality on.

"Okay, we were surrounded, an entire army of them and we had only our own ship, awesome as it was, and Buggy —remember I told you about him? A good kid, but he worries too much— he was all freaking out…"

Rouge leaned back against the headboard and let the words wash over her. She had heard this story before —Roger's crew had escaped thanks to a storm— but she hoped she could remember as many of Roger's stories as possible. Then, as their child grew up, she would retell them, because they needed to know what their father was truly like, not the lies the world told about him.

* * *

Rouge had known that Roger had many friends all over the world, he had told her about them whenever he talked about his adventures. She just hadn't truly _understood_ what that meant until this trip had started. Back home, she hadn't wanted to risk having any doctor check her up for fear that the knowledge of her pregnancy would fall in the wrong ears, but now she had already had two doctors check her. First, it had been Crocus at the twin capes, who had assured her that the child was growing in perfect condition.

Now, it was this doctor at Drum Island. She was a formidable woman, brilliant and no doubt had a few screws loose in her head. A lesser woman would have been terrified of the so called witch doctor, but Rouge just smiled and ignored the way doctor Kureha threatened Roger with an axe she had pulled out of who knew where when Roger got too close to her homemade medicines.

"You're one hell of a brave woman," doctor Kureha told her after she had kicked Roger —quite literally— out of her house.

"Am I?" Rouge asked, unsure of what that comment was supposed to mean, and doctor Kureha chuckled.

"Many women would sleep with Roger, the thrill of him being the Pirate King and all that nonsense, but very few would dare to carry his child."

Now Rouge frowned.

"You say that as if it's not my child as well."

She wasn't sure what response she had expected, but for Kureha to raise an eyebrow and then chuckle again wasn't it. Doctor Kureha, Rouge decided, was a very strange woman.

"What's your name, kid?"

Rouge frowned, both at being called 'kid' —though she guessed Kureha was old enough to get away with calling that to almost anyone— and at the question. She thought Roger had introduced her.

"Rouge. Portgas D. Rouge."

Again, that eyebrow went up and a new chuckle followed. A chuckle that, if Rouge wasn't confused, sounded somewhat incredulous.

"That explains it, I guess," Kureha said, but she continued before Rouge could ask what she meant by that. "Anyway, you two are in perfect health, so get out of here before that lover of yours destroys my front yard and I have to kill him."

Refraining from mentioning that Kureha didn't have a front yard, Rouge stood from the bed and was about to do just as she had been told when she realized something.

"How much do I owe you?"

Doctor Kureha scoffed.

"Nothing, girl, I owed your man a favor. Go."

As Rouge left the house, she thought that Roger had the strangest of friends.

* * *

Rouge didn't like Mock Town. It wasn't because of the general roughness and the crass behavior of the people everywhere in sight —she had seen it before, and, really, if she had a problem with general pirate qualities, she wouldn't be with Roger: she loved him, but he wasn't exactly a role model— but the _attitude_ of the people there. The city where dreams don't exist, that was what Roger had called it, and Rouge had to agree that it was a very apt description.

For all that the people laughed and acted as if they didn't have a care in the world, the place lacked… _something_. Maybe it was just how stereotypical it seemed to her, from an outsider point of view, of what people expected pirates to be like: there were many fights, there was a fair amount of drinking, there were games and there was gambling, and the few locals she had spotted —mostly bartenders and shop owners— looked resigned and ignored all unpleasantness, including what was aimed at them, with a passiveness that Rouge found depressing.

They had decided to stop at this island because all others in the area were stable World Government countries, such as Alabasta, or were far too close to the G-2 base of the marines. Even if Roger could beat every single fighter at both places, they were trying to stay away from fights, and Roger had assured her that none of the dreamless pirates that could be found at Mock Town would dare challenge him. He had been right. They had received a fair deal of stares —Rouge had been tense and ready to fight from the moment they had stepped foot in the town— but no one had approached aside from the shopkeepers offering help with their purchases.

They took care of their purchases as quickly as possible. Rouge doubted she would find anything for their child here, and didn't feel like even looking with the general air of the town, so they went straight to buy food and drinks.

It was, by far, the shortest time they had been at any island, even considering they were attempting not to linger anywhere, and barely two hours after, arriving they were boarding their small ship again and setting sail.

* * *

This had been a matter of time, Rouge had known that since the moment they had reached Grand Line, but she still would have felt much better if it had never happened. Barely eight weeks into her pregnancy, her movements weren't yet hampered by her belly, and the rush of adrenaline ensured her usual morning sickness —that also made it's appearances with sudden movements— did not rear its ugly head.

The marine ship had appeared out of nowhere a day after they had left Mock Town, while Roger had been telling Rouge about Sky Island —they couldn't go there because it would still be a few months before the Knock Up current appeared again, something Rouge couldn't help but feel sorry about— and a pretentious man that had claimed to be a vice-admiral, whose name she hadn't heard because Roger had pushed a gun at her at that moment, had claimed they were under arrest. He seemed to be under the impression that he could arrest Roger because, without his crew and despite his strength, he was still just a man, and one that had spent years fighting a vice-admiral at that. Rouge had snorted, because she suspected that, if every vice-admiral was on Monkey D. Garp's level, there would be no pirates in the world.

Roger, of course, charged at the vice-admiral, punching his way through not-particularly-enthusiastic marines as he went. Those same marines seemed to be under the impression that she, a no-name woman in a long dress that really wasn't fit clothing for fighting, would be an easy target. And, granted, Rouge was nowhere near Roger's level, or that of some of his most memorable crewmembers and rivals for that matter, but that didn't make her a weakling either. She had been able to use haki since birth, and ever since she had met Roger, he had been teaching her how to use it in a more fight-oriented manner. He had, as well, since they had left Baterilla, been teaching her how to use a gun.

She readied herself and shot the first marine that tried to jump into her ship.

The marines had tried to sink them from a distance, but Roger had deflected all of their cannonballs, and they had settled for approaching them. Rouge knew they wouldn't shot from such a short distance, because they risked damaging their own ship as well.

A few marines managed to get on the ship, and Rouge punched one straight overboard. She may not have muscles, but haki made up for it wonderfully.

After the fifth marine fell to the water without managing to land a blow, and once it became apparent that _bullets didn't work_ , the rest of the marines started to look less assured that she would be easy to defeat.

Rouge felt very proud of herself.

* * *

Rouge had thought she would feel worse if she ever had to kill someone. The truth was that, though she _did_ feel bad about all those lives lost, she didn't feel nearly as guilty as she should. She had her back turned from the remnants of the marine ship as they sailed away from it, but she didn't wish for things to have gone differently, or to have done something different herself. It probably was, she reasoned, because those people had attacked her family, intending to take her lover and unwittingly endangering her unborn child. She had defended her loved ones, and she would do it again it pressed.

An arm wrapped around her shoulders.

"You okay?" Roger asked in that soft voice that no one who didn't know him would believe he was capable of using.

"Yes. Mostly. I will be, don't worry," she reassured, and placed a hand on her belly to reassure herself that her baby was fine. Her child still hadn't grown enough to kick, but she couldn't wait for that moment to arrive. For now, the steady presence she could feel in her womb was enough to keep her calm.

"That was impressive," Roger told her with a wide grin. Rouge smiled, too.

"You think?"

"Of course! You kicked those marines' asses!" Roger exclaimed. "Just wait until our kid has grown. With parents like us, they'll be able to beat anyone!"

Rouge didn't think how she would be the only one left to see that. She just smiled, agreed, and joined Roger in speculating how their child would be.

* * *

Roger was laughing so hard that there were tears falling down his cheeks by now, and he was holding his stomach with one hand. Rouge sighed, but she couldn't help smiling as well.

"Oh, stop that. This is no laughing matter," she admonished, no real scorn in her voice.

Roger couldn't answer with anything more than a wave of his hand, but he did make an effort to reign his laughter in when she mock-glared at him.

"C-come on, this is _great_!" he told her, looked at the newspaper and chuckled.

"Oh, yes, because having the government after your head is such a laughing matter."

"Hey, they would've been after you anyway. This just makes it cooler."

Rouge shook her head, but let Roger kiss her on the temple. She looked down at the paper in her hand and had to admit he was right, it _was_ cool. Besides, she looked badass in the picture, all serious and ready to fight, and being called "the Pirate King's ally" just strengthened that feeling. And she thought fifty million was a pretty decent first bounty.

It was a pity she hadn't been given a moniker, though. It would have been funny to be called "Pirate Queen".

"I feel like a pirate now," she commented.

"And I'm really proud of you for that," Roger told her, and this time he kissed her on the lips.

Rouge let go of her brand new wanted poster.

* * *

"Are you sure you don't want to go?" Rouge asked, eyes fixed on the weak soup she was trying to make. Her nausea had been growing worse these past few days, and she was trying to stay away from foods that would upset her stomach. Roger had tried to be sympathetic at first when her morning sickness had become too much to follow her usual diet and had tried to eat the same as her, but he had been so miserable that she had chuckled and told him to eat what he liked. Besides, there was no sense in letting so much food go to waste just because she couldn't stomach it right now.

"Yeah, it's better that I don't go. He's going to be in enough trouble as it is."

Rouge looked at the eternal pose currently in one of the small kitchenette's shelves. It pointed to an island called St. Poplar, near Water Seven. Roger had made an effort to get his hands on a log pose that led to any of the islands surrounding Water Seven, because the route they were currently following led them straight to the city of water, and he didn't want to be spotted there.

Rouge understood his reticence to go there, as this whole trip was, after all, because they both knew anybody connected to Roger in any way would be in trouble with the World Government once he was gone, but she couldn't help regretting the detour. She would have liked to meet Tom, he sounded like a great guy from the story Roger had told her of their meeting, but she knew that Tom would be in a lot of trouble for having built the Oro Jackson, and having Roger seen at Water Seven now would only make things worse for him.

It was a pity, but Rouge didn't want to make things worse for anyone. She knew just too well the worry of being in the government's radar.

* * *

Sabaody Archipelago was a beautiful place. Rouge had been fascinated by all the bubbles floating around, and had even jumped onto one, floating up until it had snapped. She had fallen on top of Roger, much to their shared amusement. She hadn't even needed to suggest they rent one of the bon-charis Roger had told her about, because he had been just as eager to ride one and had suggested it first. They had finally rented two individual ones, because they both had wanted to drive, and had raced all the way to Grove 13.

Rouge would lie if she said she wasn't nervous. The man they were about to meet was the person she had heard the most about, someone with a reputation as infamous as Roger's own was.

She didn't have much time to feel nervous, though, because Silvers Rayleigh was waiting for them at the entrance to the bar in Grove 13 that had been their destination.

"Had a feeling I'd see you here," Rayleigh said as a way of greeting when they slowed to a halt, and the next moment Roger had glomped him into a hug. Rouge smiled at how happy Roger looked seeing his first mate and best friend again after almost a year. Rayleigh laughed and hugged Roger back. Rouge stepped down from her bon-chari.

"Rouge, right?" Rayleigh asked her once he pulled her away from Roger. She nodded, and then Rayleigh looked at Roger. "Mind telling me what's going on here?"

They walked inside the bar as Roger told the story of how they had met and everything that had followed. The bar was empty, except for a dark haired woman who Rouge guessed was the owner, Shakky. Roger had told her some things about her, amongst them how fitting the name of her bar was because she didn't stand for anyone trying to get away without paying or stealing from her.

She had some drinks and food out already, and listened to their story as well when they joined her at the bar.

Rayleigh shook his head when he heard about Rouge's pregnancy, though everybody present knew he had felt it long before they had reached his door, and his eyes traveled to Rouge's still flat belly.

"I can't believe there's a woman crazy enough to be with Roger," Rayleigh said once the story was over, but Rouge didn't take offense because he was smiling as he said it. "You've got some serious guts there."

"You're not the first to tell me."

"I'm guessing you want me to coat your ship, right?" He didn't wait for an answer. "Three days is the minimum if you don't want to die down there." He gave Roger a pointed look at this, and Rouge remembered the story of the crew's first trip to Fishman Island, when Roger had been so eager to go that he had pestered Rayleigh incessantly into doing it faster. Roger just grinned.

"You should stay here while you wait," Shakky suggested. "I'm guessing the marines know you're coming here, if they haven't received confirmation that you've arrived already. Best not to draw attention."

* * *

Going underwater was an amazing experience. Rouge had followed Shakky's advice to have a coat at hand because the temperature went down quite noticeably once the sunlight didn't reach them anymore, and she spent most of the time staring out at the sea in fascination. She let Roger steer because, even though she had grown used to navigation in the Grand Line by now, he had actual experience going to the bottom of the sea, and thus the most chances for them to reach Fishman Island safely. Rouge had heard that half the ships that tried to reach it crashed on the way down.

She had to get serious, however, when they reached the area with the underwater volcanoes and use her sternest voice to get through Roger's thick skull that they weren't approaching any and were, in fact, getting out of there as fast as their ship allowed. Sometimes she felt like she had a hyperactive child instead of a lover.

Fishman Island was as much, if not even more, fascinating than Sabaody had been. This was Rouge's first time seeing Fishmen and Merpeople, and she had many questions to ask. Roger didn't know the answers to most of them, but he had no problem stopping unsuspecting passers-by so that she could ask them. They received many strange and suspicious looks, but Roger was recognized by most, and so whoever he stopped generally answered the question and hurried away. As sad as it was to see, Rouge wasn't surprised, not after Shakky had told her about all the racial issues between humans and fishmen, and how pirates were especially mistrusted in Fishman Island because they tended to wreck havoc and some even attempted —or succeeded— to kidnap mermaids to sell them.

Their behavior must have been more worrying than Rouge had believed at first, because a large and round fishman dressed as a royal guard actually approached them to ask them to stop harassing the citizens. Rouge had to admit she was impressed by the guy; his stance and the way he looked at Roger made it clear that he knew who he was, and yet he had approached anyway.

"But she has questions," Roger answered —quite childishly, in Rouge's opinion. And the fishman's, too, if his face was any indication.

The fishman looked at her now. A lesser woman might have been intimidated, he had a very imposing presence, but Rouge met his eyes calmly.

"Questions?" he asked in a suspicious tone.

"Yes. I don't know anything about your race," if she didn't count rumors that she very much doubted were true, "and it's my first time here. I'm curious. I'm sorry about the trouble, we really didn't want to make anyone uncomfortable."

He sighed, but his stance relaxed in a way that suggested he thought they didn't have bad intentions.

"If I answer your questions, will you stop harassing the citizens?" He gave Roger a pointed look at this, and Roger had the decency to look a little sheepish.

"Of course," Rouge assured him, and smiled, "thank you. I'm Rouge, and he's Roger." The second introduction was unnecessary, she knew, but it also was the polite thing to do. "What's your name?"

"I'm Jinbe."

* * *

"We're _not_ stopping there," Rouge said decisively.

Roger pouted.

"Oh, come on, it's fun."

Rouge crossed his arms.

"As much as I agree, it looks interesting, I don't think it's the best place for a pregnant woman."

Roger sobered immediately.

"Right, you're right."

"You have an eternal pose for Dressrosa, don't you?"

"Yeah, it's in the kitchen." Roger turned around and headed inside. Rouge could still hear him talking. "Dressrosa's a pretty calm country. Peaceful. Their king doesn't like conflict. It's a good place to get supplies, and probably some stuff for the baby. Nothing dangerous for a pregnant woman there. Oh, here!"

Roger came back out with the eternal pose, and they sailed away from the thunder island without stopping there. It was a pity, it _would_ have been fun to share one of Roger's adventures with him, but now Rouge wasn't looking out only for herself.

* * *

"How are you planning to find them?" Rouge asked.

They were sitting on a small restaurant in Dressrosa's capital, the table between them so full of plates that it had earned them a stunned look from the waiter when they had ordered. Rouge's appetite, though far above average, had never been as large as Roger's was, but for the last week her morning sickness had disappeared considerably and now her appetite was back to what it had been the first few weeks of her pregnancy, way above her usual appetite. It had been her increased appetite, in fact, one of the first things that had clued her to the possibility of being pregnant.

"Oh, that'll be easy," Roger assured her, waving a slice of sea king around before eating it. He continued. "It's not like the guys hide or anything. We just gotta go to one of their territories and ask them to contact them."

"Just like that?" She stole the last piece of chicken, and received a wounded look from Roger.

"Just like that. It's not like anyone's gonna deny the Pirate King." He grinned and went for a large bowl of soup.

He was right, of course. His acquaintances and Jinbe in Fishman Island aside, no one had dared oppose any of Roger's requests. Not that he had asked for anything too outrageous, meals aside. Besides, she supposed, not calling the Whitebeard Pirates would be counterproductive for any of their territories, because they risked Roger getting annoyed, attacking the place and then they would have to call the crew anyway. Not that Rouge was going to let Roger attack or threaten anybody for that reason —getting in the Whitebeard Pirates' bad side would be against their purposes— but nobody else had to know.

"And you know where to go for that?"

"Yeah, there's a nearby island under their protection. Two days tops and we'll be there."

Rouge touched her belly at that. It was strange that they were finally so close. She wasn't sure how she felt. In one hand, it meant she and the baby were most likely safe —Roger had said multiple times that there was no way Whitebeard would refuse— but in the other, it also meant that the day Roger would hand himself to the marines was almost here as well.

Roger placed his hand on top of the one she still had on the table, and she looked up at him. She hadn't even noticed she had bowed her head.

"You'll be alright. Both of you."

"I know. It's not about us that I'm worried."

Roger smiled at her, and it soon morphed into a wide grin.

"Why don't we get a room for the night? We haven't slept outside of the ship since we left your house."

Rouge allowed the change of topic. They had had this conversation many times and it wouldn't take them anywhere. There was no saving Roger, they both knew he barely had a few months left either way, not enough to even meet their child if he decided to die from his illness. He had a legacy to pass on, and Rouge didn't want to get in the middle of that, not with what she knew. Besides, who knew, perhaps it would be their own child who followed it.

"Won't that be dangerous?" she asked instead of voicing her thoughts.

"Nah. I told you, the king wants peace, and calling the marines on me is one of the most destructive things he could do. They'd send Garp and probably an admiral, and the city wouldn't survive."

She smiled. She could picture that was exactly what would happen.

"Then a room sounds great."

* * *

As it turned out, they didn't even need to ask the inhabitants of the island to contact the Whitebeard Pirates. Upon recognizing Roger in the port, someone had run all the way to the mayor of the town, and the mayor had been so nervous that he had already made the call by the time they had found him.

Roger had found it hilarious, commented he was hungry, and then happily sat to devour all the food the mayor had ordered to be brought for him. Rouge joined him, sure that her baby had inherited Roger's appetite, and went straight for the desserts.

They had to spend the night in town —the city would have been doomed if Roger had really been here to attack it— and the next morning, she was woken when Roger shot out of bed.

"Get dressed before you go, or you'll be a sight," Rouge told him without even bothering to open her eyes and heard Roger chuckle.

"Ooops," he said, and she heard him rummage through their bag.

Realizing that she, too, had to be present for the meeting, Rouge groaned and got out of bed.

Much to Roger's and her stomach's horror, she refused breakfast, claiming that she couldn't afford morning sickness now, and waited patiently for Roger to be done with his food —which didn't take long at all— before they went both outside.

A large whale-themed ship she easily identified as the Moby Dick from Roger's stories was anchored on the port, dwarfing their small ship, and many people that were clearly pirates were milling about. A bored-looking blond man approached them, and Rouge had to bite her lower lip to keep from laughing because Roger's numerous comparisons of Marco the Phoenix's hair to a pineapple were far more accurate than his wanted poster would suggest.

The glare Marco directed at a chuckling Roger told her he had caught her action and the reason for it.

"Hey, Marco!" Roger greeted him lightheartedly.

"What are you doing here?" Marco asked, his tone much lighter than his previous glare would have indicated.

"Gotta talk to your old man. He couldn't get his lazy ass down here?"

"He doesn't have to accommodate you." Marco pointed over his shoulder at the ship with one thumb. "You go up there if you want to talk to him." He looked at them for a moment. "I'm guessing you forgot to bring sake."

Roger rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Sorry, had other things in my mind."

"I can guess," Marco said, his eyes moving quickly down to Rouge's belly and back to Roger. Haki user, of course. Rouge guessed there were many of them on board. There should, considering this was the strongest active pirate crew in the world.

"Oh, right." Roger turned to her. "This is Rouge. Rouge, the old man is Marco." Rouge smiled, trying not to laugh, because Roger had also told her about his —unproven and not very thought through— theory that Marco was as old as dirt. Marco sighed in a way that suggested he had heard the theory before and wasn't impressed by it.

"Get on board."

They did, following Marco amongst the curious glances of many of the pirates. They seemed used enough to seeing Roger, and were relaxed now that it was clear there wasn't going to be a fight, but Roger's presence drew a lot of curious looks.

Her first sight of Whitebeard, despite the fact that he was sitting and drinking from a bottle of sake, was an impressive one. He was easily the largest human she had ever seen: he was very muscular, had a large and very noticeable moustache that she could understand why had been made his epithet, and was looking at them in a rather bored manner. The chair he was sitting on was so large Rouge would have to climb to reach the seat, and the bottle was taller than she was.

"Hey, Newgate!" Roger greeted with a large grin, waving a hand, as if he was meeting with an old friend and not an enemy. He sometimes called both Whitebeard and Garp "frenemies", and Rouge now believed it to be a very fitting term. "I got something to ask you."

"They can stay," Whitebeard interrupted, lowering his bottle. Roger blinked. "That's what you wanted to ask, right?"

"Eh… yeah. They can? Just like that? I thought I'd have to fight you or something first."

"What?!" Rouge demanded, turning towards him.

Roger, looking like a kid caught doing something he really shouldn't, raised both hands.

"Just kidding! I knew he'd agree! I just thought I'd have to beat him up or something first."

"You _think_ you can beat me?" Whitebeard asked. He didn't sound offended, but there was a clear challenge in his voice.

Roger grinned.

"Wanna see?"

"Why not?" Whitebeard said, leaving his bottle on the floor before standing up. "I thought I wouldn't see you after last time. I'm not passing this chance to beat you to the ground."

"Ha. Same here."

"Just get off of the ship before you start," Marco told them both calmly, a calm that wasn't mirrored by many people on board. A look around proved that most of the Whitebeard Pirates were nervous now that they knew there was going to be a fight after all.

Rouge herself was excited. She would get to see one of Roger's infamous fights with Whitebeard, and wouldn't even need to really worry because this one wasn't to death as many in the past had been.

"You staying the night?" she heard Whitebeard ask as the two walked away.

"Yeah, of course. I'm not leaving without at least a party." She could barely hear Roger's response as they descended from the ship.

She shook her head in amusement. Nobody who didn't know better would guess those two were about to beat each other to a pulp.

She walked to the side of the ship that overlooked the port that was already growing crowded with pirates, and leaned on the railing.

"Do you need to sit?"

Rouge turned to the side to see that Marco was now next to her. She shook her head.

"No, I'm fine." Roger and Whitebeard were still bantering as the crew hurried to get the bemused citizens away from the port before the fight started.

"We don't know the first thing about taking care of babies. I'm not sure how this will go."

Rouge chuckled.

"I don't, either. But I bought a lot of books."

"Can I borrow them when you're done?"

"Hey, look, they're starting!" someone yelled, and suddenly loud cheering for Whitebeard started all around her.

Rouge grinned. She would have to be the loudest cheering for Roger to make up for the difference.

* * *

Rouge turned around in bed again and stared out the porthole at the shining moon. It was late, so late that it would be easier to say it was early. The party Roger had demanded —and to which Whitebeard had had no complaints— was still going on deck, but she and Roger had retreated around an hour ago, because she had been yawning a lot for the last half hour before leaving. But she couldn't sleep now, and judging by the lack of snores in the room she wasn't the only one.

"Are you awake?" she asked in a whisper.

"Yes. Can't sleep."

"Me neither." She turned around again to rest on Roger's chest. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

They both knew why they couldn't sleep, but it made no sense to voice it. Neither of them were people for empty reassurances, and the way they were now was how they could draw the most comfort.

"Tell us a story?" Rouge asked after a few minutes.

"Which one?"

She thought for a moment.

"Rayleigh said he kicked you out the first time you met. I want that one." She had heard it many times, but it was just what she needed, a story of beginnings and dreams.

He chuckled.

"Oh, yes. He wasn't happy at all with me butting into his day. I approached him at first because he had a nice ship and I didn't have one, and being a pirate without a ship wouldn't do—"

For the few hours until morning came, Roger told her the stories of how he had met every one of his crewmembers.

* * *

Rouge had been sitting on the railing all day facing the sea, a hand clenching the newspaper tightly while the other rested against her still flat belly. The plate of sandwiches, the bowl of soup and the bottle of water Thatch had taken to her at lunch time still sat untouched on the deck. The last week, ever since Roger's capture had been officially announced a few days after he had left the Moby Dick, the tension had been growing on board. Everybody had walked on eggshells around her, not wanting to upset her, much less with the pregnancy, and now people would just stare at her in worry. She hadn't appeared for breakfast that morning, and they had soon found her sitting out here with the special release of the newspaper that announced Roger had been executed that morning.

Pops had told them to let her be for a while, that she needed to deal with this on her own and that people trying to cheer her up right now wouldn't help.

That didn't stop them from worrying. She may have only been in the crew for less than two weeks, but they already considered Rouge and her unborn baby as one of theirs.

"You think she'll be okay?" Thatch, leaning against a higher railing from where he had a good view of where Rouge was sitting, asked.

"Yeah. She's known this was coming from the beginning. Pops is right, what she needs now is time to process that it has happened now," Marco, next to him, answered.

"Man, this sucks. I knew I'd feel bad when Roger was executed, but this is worse than I expected." Marco just nodded. "She hasn't moved all day."

* * *

Fearsome pirates or not, currently most of the inhabitants of the Moby Dick had been reduced to restless bundles of nerves pacing around, asking each other questions that nobody could really answer.

The baby was coming.

When the news had spread, many people had hurried to the infirmary, but they had been kicked out by very annoyed nurses. The only ones allowed to stay right outside of the room were Marco and Thatch, because they had insisted the most and were too stubborn to deal with on a moment like this. Every few minutes, one of them would emerge to the deck to inform the rest that nothing had changed, and Thatch had once implied that the noise coming from the infirmary was worthy of a torture chamber, which had only increased everybody's worry even more.

The fact that they were late on the report wasn't doing any good for anybody's nerves.

When Thatch finally burst through the door once more, he was grinning.

"Hey, guys, IT'S A BOY!"

Loud cheering greeted his words, and it was over a minute because anyone's voice could be heard clearly enough for the obvious question to be asked.

"What's his name?"

"Gol D. Ace."

"And how's Rouge?" someone managed to ask before the cheering grew too loud again. People calmed down to hear the answer.

"Tired and a little bitchy, but she'll be okay once she's rested."

Amongst the new cheers, a question could be heard.

"So we got a new brother or a new nephew?"

 **The End**

* * *

In canon, Rouge died because of the extended pregnancy. As here the pregnancy was of average length, she survived giving birth without any trouble. Also, as this pregnancy was only nine months long, Ace was born in early February instead of January.

Also, I decided to make her a haki user because I couldn't think of another way, short of a devil fruit, that would justify she was able to extend her pregnancy like that.

So, what did you think? :)


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